High Bonds Set In Attempted Murder Case

A New Britain woman is under arrest and two men are being held in lieu of $5 million in bail each in connection with the attempted murder last week of a New York City police detective.

All three were in courts in New Britain and Hartford Tuesday to face charges related to the attack on the Port Authority police officer, who remains critically injured after being run over with a car Friday while participating in a drug bust at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Tony Wilson, 32, a New York man police say drove the car that hit the officer, was ordered held in lieu of $4 million bail Tuesday by Hartford Superior Court Judge Howard Scheinblum.

The judge set $1 million bail for Peter Martin, 26, of Miami, who was arrested simultaneously Saturday with Wilson and also charged with attempted murder.

Meanwhile in New Britain Superior Court, Tywana Staples, 30, of 211 Fairview St., was arraigned on charges of filing a false report, making a false statement to police and hindering prosecution. Authorities said her car was used to run down the police officer and she later reported it stolen.

All three also face drug charges. Hartford and New York police who converged on apartment 201 at 360 Laurel St. Saturday said they found Wilson, Martin and 7 pounds of marijuana. While arresting Staples in her third-floor apartment Monday, New Britain detectives said they found a small amount of marijuana and charged her with possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

The incident began early Friday morning when airport employees tipped off Port Authority police that a suitcase, which had just arrived on a plane from California, smelled of marijuana. Police found three suitcases containing 120 pounds of marijuana with street value of about $320,000.

Police arrested the plane passenger who claimed the suitcases, but not before they watched Wilson pull up in Staples' tan Mazda sedan and take two of the suitcases. When they tried to stop Wilson, he hit police Det. Phillip Stephenson with the car and abandoned the vehicle a few blocks away, police said.

Stephenson, 49, a 23-year police veteran with numerous commendations and medals, was in stable but critical condition at New York University Hospital in Manhattan. He was undergoing surgery there Tuesday night.

Staples' attorney, John Ritson of Hartford, said in court Tuesday that his client, a mother of two children, ages 4 and 7, didn't know anything about the attack on the officer or the drug seizure. He said Wilson, Staples' sometime boyfriend, had a history of taking her car without permission.

Ritson said Wilson telephoned Staples Friday insisting ``you got to report the car stolen, I left it in New York.''

Ritson said Staples underwent 11 1/2 hours of questioning by police, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency and even the Central Intelligence Agency over the weekend.

``Her statements gave police the name of Tony Wilson. . . . She's probably the state's best witness,'' said Ritson, arguing Staples' cooperation had earned a lower bail.

Judge Frank Iannotti ordered Staples held in lieu of $150,000 cash on the charges related to the car, and $25,000 cash or surety on the marijuana possession charge.

The specific details of the New York drug operation, and the reason for the involvement of federal authorities remained unclear Tuesday. Arrest warrants in each case were ordered sealed by judges.

New York authorities said they will seek to extradite Wilson on a fugitive charge.